South Korea’s Lee calls heatwave national disaster, deaths rise to 19

South Korea’s President Lee ‌Jae Myung urged on Tuesday authorities to step up support for people affected by a record heatwave in the country, calling it a national disaster after scorching conditions were blamed for 19 deaths.Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Lee ordered officials to take necessary measures to protect the daily lives of people and inspect power systems as demand for air conditioning surges.“An even greater concern is that abnormal weather conditions make it highly likely ⁠that extreme weather will continue for a considerable period,” said Lee, who wanted a major redesign of the disaster response system ‌to cope with the hazardous conditions.